Flurry Worries
by Ellethiriel
Summary: Something is worrying Estel, and Gilraen is determined to find out what. Fluffy oneshot.


Written for the April 2016 Teitho theme of Waiting. Finally decided to upload it here! :)

* * *

The autumn of Estel's eighth year was an unusual one, sunny and warm for days on end but frequently punctuated by sudden cloudbursts. Even Elrond said the weather was unexpected, and he was not easily surprised by anything. He didn't mind it, saying that the longer summer was a welcome gift, but some of the younger Elves seemed disappointed by the peculiar weather, having been looking forward to the first snowfall of winter.

Gilraen, on the other hand, was one of those who enjoyed the extended summer. On the sunny afternoons, she and Estel took long walks around Imladris after his lessons were done, having fun exploring together. But as December approached and the mild weather continued, she began to grow concerned about Estel.

It started one evening at supper. Estel had gotten through with his lessons early that day, and now, sitting next to him at the long supper table with the other Imladrians, she noticed that he was unusually quiet, pensively toying with his fork.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't meet her gaze, only shrugged and stared straight ahead.

Gilraen frowned slightly. "Come on. What's bothering you? You're not even eating."

"Nothing," he said, looking down at his plate. "An' I'm gonna eat now." With that, he stabbed his fork into a carrot.

Confused, Gilraen turned back to her own food. Maybe it was nothing, and if it was, he'd tell her when he was ready, right? If she had learned anything as a parent, it was not to push her son for information when he was reluctant.

The next day (Saturday) saw the temperature shift and a sudden cloudburst erupt over Imladris. All through the morning the rain fell, and so did Estel's mood. Finally desperate for answers, Gilraen tried to question him further, but the seven-year-old stubbornly refused to speak. She had no idea what to do. It was times like these she missed Arathorn more than ever.

She re-entered her apartment late that afternoon after venturing out for some fresh air, wiping plastered strands of wet hair from her face. Estel was sprawled in the windowseat where she had left him, his chin resting in his hands as he stared out the window. She walked over to the fireplace and settled down in a cozy chair in front of the blaze, unraveling her long braid to let her hair dry out in the warmth.

Then she remembered. "Oh, Lord Elrond thinks there might finally be snow tomorrow." She looked at Estel, hoping to elicit a response.

Estel stiffened, then turned towards her, a grin breaking out on his face. "Really?"

Was that all he was worried about? The lack of snow? A golden sense of relief washed through her as she deftly untwisted the last thick strand of hair and ran her fingers through her tresses. "Well, it's not definite, so don't be too disappointed if there isn't any."

To her surprise, he mumbled, so low she could barely hear, "Oh, right. I guess I've been too naughty."

She blinked. "What?"

He looked at her awkwardly. "'Cause if I'm not good, there won't be any snow."

"What did you say, sweetie?" _I don't understand..._

Estel averted his gaze, tracing a finger in endless loops on the windowsill. "Um, I think I've been sorta naughty, and so I thought there won't be any snow 'cause of me."

She leaned forward, asking gently, "Why do you think so?"

A huge sigh this time, accompanied by his turning around to face her and flopping on his back in the windowseat with his legs dangling. "Uh, 'Restor kinda said so."

" _Erestor_ said this?" She unconsciously smoothed her fingers through the wet hair on the side of her head and then clutched the strands tightly. Confusion swirled through her.

Estel merely nodded. Blue-grey eyes so like Arathorn's met hers from across the room, and she gnawed her lip, anger beginning to surge. "Why did he say this? Why didn't you tell me? And why did you think you were naughty?"

"So... it isn't true?" He huffed suddenly and crossed his arms, still slouched across the seat. "I'm never believing 'Restor ever again. About anything!"

"But what exactly did he say?" Gilraen pressed, inwardly seething.

"That the Valar must've cursed him to have disobedient students, and also that I'm so naughty that the Valar should punish me." He paused. "I don't like 'Restor."

"He said nothing about snow?"

"Well... no. But I've been waiting for it to snow for so long, an' so then I thought that maybe the Valar are punishing me by making it all warm outside instead." His voice radiated confusion as he eyed his mother, gauging her reaction.

Gilraen sat very still for a moment. All that could be heard was the crackle and hiss of the flames in the grate.

"Come here," she said finally. Obediently Estel got up and shuffled over to her, and she tilted his chin to look him in the eye. "What was it you did that he was so angry about?"

"Um, uh..." Estel scratched the back of his curly head. "Promise you won't get mad?" When she nodded, he continued hesitantly, "Um, I put glue... all over his chair."

Now _this_ was a revelation. In spite of herself, she felt the sudden urge to laugh. "And then what happened?"

"Then 'Restor sat down for a while an' told me all this boring history stuff, an' then when he began to get up, he couldn't get up, 'cause the chair was stuck to him!"

"Mmhmm?" Gilraen encouraged.

Estel chanced a glance up at his mother. "An' then he had to take off his outer robe he always wears and leave it there 'cause it was so stuck. Then he got really mad an' said the Valar must've cursed him to have disobedient students an' that they should punish me. And then he said that lessons were done for the day and he went away in just his tunic."

Gilraen bit her lip and quickly turned away before she could smile. It was totally unacceptable behavior on Estel's part, of course, but the mental image of fusty, boring Erestor stuck to a chair was just too much. At the same time, Erestor's response was simply appalling. She put her head in her hands, torn between dismay and amusement.

"Are you mad? You said you wouldn't be."

She looked up again. "Well, I'm very... disappointed, in both you and Erestor. What you did was very wrong and disrespectful, but Erestor also did very wrong." She paused, then added gently, "You should always treat others with respect."

His shoulders sagged. "I know, but I was so bored! And why do I even have to go to school anyway?"

Gilraen gave a light smile and tousled his hair. "Well, everyone has to learn about the world. Even Lord Elrond went to school when he was a boy." Of course, she'd also hated the lessons she'd had as a girl, but being an adult, she couldn't tell him that.

"So?" Estel mumbled, almost poutingly. "He's an Elf, so school doesn't take up so much of his life."

Gilraen pursed her lips, tempted to smile again at her son's view of the world. Then she shrugged. "I don't know about that. But anyway, we're going to go and sort this out with Erestor. You're going to apologize to him, and he is going to apologize to you."

"Right now?"

Gilraen gave a decisive nod. "Uh-huh. Come on." With that, she got up and headed towards the door. The air had grown colder since she'd last been out, but luckily the rain had finally ceased. Grabbing her shawl and handing Estel's coat to him, she headed out into the chilly air.

* * *

Erestor, as a rule, was not easily infuriated. Easily irked, yes, easily exasperated, yes, but it was rare for him to be truly angry.

And it was because of the previous day's incident that he felt so guilty. He had actually forgotten about it for most of the day, lost in the ancient texts of the library, but it had come back to haunt him with a vengeance that afternoon. He should never have blown up at the little boy he had as his student, no matter what he had done. Estel deserved a sincere apology.

It was as he got up to make good on his decision that the library door opened suddenly and Gilraen strode in, Estel on her heels. Erestor faltered and stayed standing by his desk, foreboding washing over him; she must have heard what had happened. He had had the misfortune to see her angry on one rare occasion, and it was a truly terrifying experience, one he had no wish to repeat.

"Lady, I..." he began.

Gilraen ignored his words and planted herself in front of him, willing herself to remain calm.

"Estel," she said, somewhat tautly, "has come to apologize for what he did yesterday during lessons. And..." she paused, looking down at her son, "...he also wants an explanation from you as to what you said."

She seemed calm, but there was a tenseness in her voice that was almost as frightening to Erestor as if she had yelled at him. It only served to make him feel worse about what he'd done. Before Estel could step forward, the Elf knelt in front of him.

"I'm so sorry, Estel. I should never have gotten angry with you like that and said all the things I did. They're not true... and I hope you didn't really believe them. Can you forgive me?"

"Uh, I guess so," Estel said charitably. "An' I'm sorry too, for sticking you to a chair."

Gilraen half-smiled at that, her mood becoming lighter, and Erestor let out a sigh he didn't know he'd been holding. He dared to chuckle. "Well, I mean, I guess I would've too if someone had been reading something that bored me out of my mind." He got to his feet. "Like Lindir's poetry," he added to Gilraen in a half-whisper.

Gilraen was smiling genuinely now, and she tousled Estel's curls fondly. "Well, I'm glad that's sorted out."

"Yep, me too! 'Cause I thought the Valar were punishing me by keeping the snow away," Estel confessed sheepishly.

The Elf gnawed his lip, a pained expression playing across his face. "I'm sorry you thought that, because it isn't true. Look." He pointed out the window set into the wall behind the two, and with a gasp Estel ran and pressed his face to the pane.

Snow was falling thickly outside, covering the ground and all around it in frosty white. Already the grass could scarcely be seen underneath the powdery layer.

"Finally!" Estel exclaimed. And with a wild grin, he whirled and ran outside as fast as he could, whooping.

Gilraen shook her head smilingly, excused herself, and ran outside after him. Her spirits were rising considerably now that everything was sorted out, and not even the chill breeze dampened her feelings. Racing around the corner in a way that was quite undignified, she soon found Estel prancing around in the falling snow, laughing infectiously and trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Standing there amid the whisper of falling flakes, she couldn't help but laugh along with him.


End file.
